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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM August 22, 1912 ... Just to prove to everyone that yesterday's defeat was not the beginning of the slump, the Red Sox went full speed at Cleveland and dropped them 9 to 0. Ray Collins pitched a great game and was pretty much the whole show as far as bringing home a victory went, although he was supported excellently by the fielders behind him. Not a hit was made off him until the sixth-inning and only two were made between then and the end of the game. The first hit by Buddy Ryan in the sixth inning, went through the pitcher's box and was stopped behind second on a brilliant play by Heinie Wagner, who saw there was no chance in trying to get the runner at first. The other hit was made by Bert Adams in the eighth and was a good clean hit to right. Collins struck out six men and gave only one free pass. Larry Gardner, Heinie Wagner and Duffy Lewis helped him out immensely with some great work in the field. Cleveland was retired in order in six of the nine innings, which shows that the defense of the Red Sox with the pitching of Ray Collins, was excellent. On the offensive side the Sox were somewhat aggressive also, coming across with 10 hits for a total of 15 bases. Of these hits, Tris Speaker got three hits and Gardner had two. Speaker knocked out a triple that was probably never seen here or anywhere else. It came in the third inning, with Neil Ball on first, who had reached on a single. Speaker and Ball evidently had decided to work the hit-and-run. For Cleveland, pitcher George Kahler and catcher Fred Carisch were onto the play, and Kahler decided to pitch out. Ball started with the pitch which was about 3 feet outside of the plate, and the only way Speaker could protect him was to foul it off. He could not reach the ball without stepping out of the batter's box, so be just tossed his bat out in front of it. The ball and the bat came together and the ball bounded off down the left field foul line and rolled all the way to the embankment. After a long run, Ryan tried to get his foot in front of the baseball but failed, scoring Ball from first and Speaker ending up on third. Cleveland manager Harry Davis used three pitchers in the game, but they all looked alike to the Red Sox hitters. They all had poor control, as well as being ineffective. Kahler and Willie Mitchell each made two wild pitches and Roy Walker threw one. The Red Sox were a little upset over the outcome of their previous game and they started right after the Cleveland team. They got two rather cheap runs in the first inning. After Harry Hooper flied out, Ball wrapped out a ground ball that got away from Larry Lajoie and went into the outfield. Ball stole second and kept on to third as Carisch made a wild throw in trying to get him. Then Speaker was passed. On the hit-and-run play, Speaker went down to second, drawing Roger Peckinpaugh away from his position to take the throw. Carisch never had a chance to throw him out, because Duffy Lewis cracked the ball through the spot that Peckinpaugh and left. Ball scored and Speaker reached third, and then Larry Gardner brought him home with a sacrifice fly, giving the Red Sox a 2 to 0 lead. The Red Sox got busy again in the third inning as Ball singled to right. He started to steal and then came Speaker's freak three base hit that scored him. After Duffy Lewis was thrown out at first, Gardner singled and Speaker scored. Clyde Engle was given a base on balls and he and Gardner worked a double steal, with Carisch throwing the ball over the third baseman's head, allowing Gardner to score and Engle to go to third. Wagner struck out and Collins flied out, but the Red Sox had worked in three runs and now were up 5 to 0.
The Sox started trouble again for Cleveland in the fifth and three more runs was scored when Speaker beat out a bunt, was moved along by Duffy Lewis and went to third on a wild pitch. Larry Gardner drew a walk and then made a bluff to steal, drawing the throw to second. While Lajoie and Doc Johnston were working to get Gardner between them, Speaker began to edge off third. Gardner made a dive back to first and Peckinpaugh snapped the ball down to Johnston. The ball hit Gardner and rolled away towards the Red Sox dugout. Speaker scored and Gardner ended up going to third on Engle's single to right. Gardner scored on a wild pitch that went ten feet wide of the plate while Engle trotted down to second base, where he was brought home by Bill Carrigan's single over second. Collins struck out to end the inning and the Red Sox were up 8 to 0. The last run came in the next inning on Harry Hooper's double and Speaker's single. Gardner laced out a triple to the right-field bleachers, but he was nabbed at the plate when he tried to stretch it into a home run. Wagner and Speaker retired from the game after the seventh inning and Marty Krug went in at shortstop and Olaf Henriksen went into centerfield. Krug fumbled the only chance he had at shortstop and at the plate both batters were given bases on balls. While the score may have been one-sided, the game was a fine one to watch. Gardner made a great one-handed catch of a hot line drive, with the ball going so fast that hardly any of the spectators saw it. Duffy Lewis took a fly ball from Joe Jackson's bat against the cliff in left field after a long run. Larry Lajoie, in spite of the one that got away from him, made some great plays around second base. |
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